msb-0294 Smoke gets in your eves.

msb-0294 Smoke gets in your eyes.

intro

Disclaimer! Disclaimer! Disclaimer!

MSBPodcast is "not" any kind of a medical podcast.

It is by and for MSers.

Its purpose is to keep us entertained, to explain our symptoms, to remark on our discoveries, and to raise the general consciousness about our disease.

The path to illness is shadowy, murky and rough strewn.

The path to wellness is lit by the lamp of knowledge.

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Feedback comes first, so...

I just got "Twitter". [ http://twitter.com/msbpodcast ]

Check out the side bars on my "blog" [ http://multiplesclerosisblog.blogspot.com/ ] and my "podcast" [ http://msbpodcast.com/ ]

Like photography before it, newspapers are dying. "This" [ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/business/media/28link.html?ref=business ] article points to what and why.

But its not a sad and dreadful message. We'll get back into why on the next post/episode.

---- "Smoke and Mirrors" by: "The Receiving End Of Sirens" http://www.merchdirect.net/TripleCrownRecords/CDs/The_Receiving_End_Of_Sirens_The_Earth_Sings_Mi_Fa_Mi_CD?productid=8273

Feed Forward comes next, so...

This is "your" segment.

Say "your" piece on this segment.

Share with other MSers whatever "you" want to share.

Drop me an email: "charles at MSBPodcast.com"

---- "Mary Jane Ive Smoked My Last One" by: "The Den Collective" http://www.purevolume.com/thedencollective

Feed Me comes third, so...

Do you have a therapy, product, good or service that is of interest to MSers?

Consider advertising on this podcast.

Reminders on this segment only cost $0.03 per reminder per download of an episode. (A $30CPM targeted at MSers.)

It can/should lead to a full ad, in text, audio or video, which costs $3.00 per download.

That sounds expensive until you do the math and realize that if nobody downloads it it costs you nothing, unlike print, where you often can't even get an ad in to the specialized journals, or radio or TV where you'd just be wasting your money with the 0.0833% MSers rate of return. (That's about six times "below" the level of "statistical noise".)

But MSBPodcast is 100% in your market, and you only pay per download of your material.

No play, no pay.

Reach the MSers who would buy your therapy, product, good or service, with-out having to waste your advertising money on anyone who is "not" interested...

Send me an email at: "charles (at) MSBPodcast.com"

---- "Smoke & Mirrors" by: "Anthony Rankin" http://www.anthonyrankin.com/

"Thesis:"

Here are some people taking my advice about inhalation, (using a large permeable membrane designed to let materials pass through in one direction; [like a diode in electronics.])

---- "Clouds or Smoke?" by: "Derek K. Miller" http://podcast.penmachine.com/

"Synthesis:"

Up in Smoke

A report [ http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/080213/marijuana-use-among-ms-patients-raises-risk-for-cognitive-mood-problems.htm ] came out today that said that MSers who use pot to ease symptoms have a slowing down in their ability to process and remember information and a rise in mood disorders like anxiety and depression.

Not really a big surprise. Our cognitive skills diminish as we ingest a mind altering drug. The study only involved 10 patients so it's not really big enough to make sweeping conclusions about the use of pot. The folks who used pot were using illegally obtained pot, so there's no verifying what else, if anything, was in those funny little cigarettes that may or may not have contributed to the findings. And the folks who used pot were not evaluated before they started using the drug so who's to say they hadn't already had diminished skills and revved up anxiety to begin with.

But let's think about the uses of pot for MSers.

To ease neuropathic pain. Pain is such a subjective thing; it's difficult to quantify how much is acceptable to any individual. But if it's keeping you awake at night or keeping you from leading a relatively normal life (with its usual aches and pains) then it's unacceptable.

To ease muscle spasms. Spasms can be painful. They, too, can keep you awake at night and prevent you from leading a relatively normal life. (And speaking from experience, they can cause you to hit the wrong button on the computer at work.)

To ease anxiety. Let's face it, life can make us anxious. We all have different coping mechanisms for anxiety. Some of us kick the dog, some of us drink to excess, some of us wash our hands 1000 times a day. Not great coping mechanisms. Now add a degenerative disease to the mix of life's usual anxieties. Would a joint once a week, say on a Friday night at home, be an any worse method of coping? Personally, I think not. Do I do it? Nope, but I have a healthy fear of a criminal record and luckily I haven't had pain or spasms bad enough to make me seek it out (almost, but not quite).

So we have a population of people with pain, spasms, and anxiety, and a disease that is destroying their brain, seeking out relief. All these stressors contribute to diminished cognitive skills and reduced mental health. The bigger issue I think is, Is the use of pot by MSers detrimental to their life.

Before we determine that pot is bad for MSers, remember that MS is bad for MSers.

---- "Smoke filling in car" by: "Momo-J" http://www.fareastpeach.com/

"Conclusion:"

While I never picked up the habit, there is a lot to be said for, uh, inhalation therapies. (Some of it might even sound coherent! :-)

Its not a moral judgement on my part. My clients used to be banks and other major financial institutions, so I never indulged. (I was "straight and sober" while the people handling mortage-backed securities must have been smokin' "something" [ http://hightimes.com/ ] clearly mind altering to have got us all in the sub-prime mess, [just a clearly, it was "not" reality altering. {"Bye Bye Bear Sterns...". Meanwhile, for the IT staff, its "either urine or you're out".}])

As for my younger days... I played Classical Guitar. That didn't do much for my "stoner status". Come to think of it, I enjoyed myself a whole lot more.

Sex, and drugs and rock-n-roll. Well, uh, "one" out of three wasn't bad at all. :-)

---- "Smoked" by: "Briareus" http://www.myspace.com/briareusmusic

Outro

And here's a song that belongs to the sound track o' my wacky life

---- "Your Red Scarf Matches your Eyes" by "Guy Marks" http://www.imeem.com/databit/music/zHWzcHM5/guy_marks_your_red_scarf_matches_your_eyes/